The Diamond
Jubilee
- Royal party takes barge journey
- 'Banksy' boy worker image on shop
- Queen's own diamonds to go on show
- Queen Church role backed in poll
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| Bahrain's King Hamad al-Khalifa and Swaziland's King Mswati III are both expected |
The King of
Bahrain and Swaziland's King Mswati III are among controversial monarchs
expected at a Windsor Castle lunch being hosted by the Queen later.
Critics
accuse Bahrain of human rights abuses and say King Mswati lives in luxury while
his people starve.
Campaigner
Peter Tatchell criticised The Queen for inviting "royal tyrants to
celebrate her Diamond Jubilee".
The Foreign
Office said it was having "a full and frank discussion on a range of
issues" with Bahrain's government.
Buckingham
Palace said it will not comment on the lunch.
It will be
followed by an evening banquet, hosted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of
Cornwall. Not all the monarchs will be at both events.
Mr Tatchell
said the invitations were "a shocking misjudgement" that showed the
Queen was "out of touch with the humanitarian values of most British
people".
"Inviting
blood-stained despots brings shame to our monarchy and tarnishes the Diamond
Jubilee celebrations," he said.
"It is
a kick in the teeth to pro-democracy campaigners and political prisoners in
these totalitarian royal regimes."
Bahrain
officials said King Hamad al-Khalifa - whose country is in a state of civil
unrest following crackdowns on protests last year - was expected to attend.
Last month,
Bahrain Grand Prix organisers were urged to cancel the race amid public unrest
in the country and accusations of human rights abuses.
And in April
2011, Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa pulled out of the Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding amid controversy over human rights.
A Foreign
Office spokesman said: "On human rights we support the reforms already
under way in Bahrain and we want to help promote that reform.
"We
have consistently encouraged the Bahraini government to take further urgent
steps to implement in full the recommendations of the Independent Commission of
Inquiry as his majesty the King has committed to doing.
"This
includes bringing to account those individuals responsible for human rights
abuses."
On
Thursday, former Foreign Office Minister Denis MacShane criticised Bahrain for
doing "such terrible things to its own people since the Arab awakening a
year ago".
He said
Arab nations "must let their citizens vote in free elections and let them
speak without fear of arrest, torture or death".
"For
too long we have turned a blind eye to the repression carried out under the
rule of royals in Arabia - the Foreign Office should protect the British Queen
rather than expose her to having to dine with a despot."
On
Wednesday, meanwhile, a group of UK-based Swazis protested outside the Savoy
hotel, in London, where King Mswati - who is widely accused of profligate
spending - is thought to be staying.
The
Swazliand Vigil group said it had written to the Queen to ask her to influence
the king.
 |
| Spain's Queen Sofia has pulled out because of a dispute over Gibraltar |
King Mswati
is rated by Forbes magazine as the world's 15th richest monarch with a personal
fortune of $100m (£62m) - while many of his 1.2 million subjects live in
poverty.
Saudi and
Kuwaiti royals are also attending the banquet.
Amnesty
international has recently highlighted repression in Saudi Arabia, as the
authorities there crack down on protesters and reformists.
And Human
Rights Watch has criticised Kuwait for the suspension of a daily newspaper and
the conviction of its editor for incitement.
Meanwhile,
Queen Sofia of Spain will not be attending because of a dispute over fishing
rights off Gibraltar, a UK territory that Spain also claims.
The Spanish
government statement said it was "hardly appropriate" for the
73-year-old to attend the lunch.
Her
husband, King Juan Carlos, had already declined an invitation because he is
recovering from a broken hip.
BBC
diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall, says that two problems always hung
over this Diamond Jubilee lunch list - the possibility of protests at the
inclusion of the despots and non democrats among the invited crowned heads of
states, and the risk of diplomatic spats intervening.
Gibraltar
has been the cause of a no-show by Spain before at a royal occasion. Spanish royalty
stayed away from Prince Charles' wedding to Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1981
because the honeymoon was to include a stop in Gibraltar, our correspondent
added.
Other
members of the British royal family, including the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Duke of York
and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will also be at the lunch.
Guest list
The full
guest list for the monarchs' lunch is:
HM The King
of Bahrain; HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrain); HM The King
of The Belgians; HM The Queen of The Belgians; HM The Sultan and Yang
Di-Pertuan of Brunei; HM Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha (Brunei); HM
King Simeon II of the Bulgarians; HM Queen Margarita of the Bulgarians; HM
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; HRH The Prince Consort (Denmark); HM King
Constantine of the Hellenes; HM Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes; HM The
Emperor of Japan; HM The Empress of Japan; HM The King of the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan; HM Queen of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; HH Sheikh Nasser
Mohamed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait.
HM King
Letsie III of Lesotho; HM Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho; HSH Prince
Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein; HRH The Grand Duke of Luxembourg; HRH The Grand
Duchess of Luxembourg; HM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong of
Malaysia; HM Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri of Malaysia; HSH The Prince of
Monaco; HSH The Princess of Monaco; HRH Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco; HM
The Queen of the Netherlands; HM The King of Norway; HM The Queen of Norway; HH
The Emir of The State of Qatar; HH Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned (Qatar).
HM King
Michael I of Romania; HM Queen Anne of Romania; HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf
Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia; HM King Mswati III of Swaziland;
Inkhosikati LaMbikiza (Swaziland); HM The King of Sweden; HM The Queen of
Sweden; HRH The Crown Prince of Thailand; HRH Princess Srirasm of Thailand; HM
The King of Tonga; HM The Queen of Tonga; HH The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; HRH
The Crown Prince of Yugoslavia; HRH The Crown Princess of Yugoslavia.
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A
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ingredients
sourced locally
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